Quotation of the day: “Having the tuition increases come in at 5 percent or less on all our campuses reflects our ongoing efforts to keep CU affordable to Coloradans.” — University of Colorado president Bruce Benson.

Never mind that 5 percent is still higher than inflation and that “affordable” is therefore in the eye of beholder; we all understand that state funding is declining somewhat next year and that tuition is being used to backfill the loss. What’s odd — or just plain brazen — about the statement is that it was only three months ago that Benson was proposing to hike tuition by more than three times 5 percent.

What stopped that proposal in its tracks was resistance from several regents. So while a majority of regents do appear determined to keep CU affordable, it’s an open question whether the administration actually shares that goal.

Vincent Carroll is The Denver Post's editorial page editor. He has been writing commentary on politics and public policy in Colorado since 1982 and was originally with the Rocky Mountain News, where he was also editor of the editorial pages until that newspaper gave up the ghost in 2009.

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